The Sam Willows is a four-member Singapore a pop band formed in May 2012.[1] The group consists of siblings Narelle and Benjamin Kheng, together with their friends Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua. The quartet’s self-titled freshman EP was released in October 2012, followed by their debut full-length album Take Heart that was released in October 2015.

In July 2018, the band released 'I Know, But Where', their second full-length studio album.

Contents 1 History 1.1 2011 – 2013: Formation, The Sam Willows 1.2 2015 – 2016: Take Heart 1.3 2017 – Present 2 Members 2.1 Benjamin Kheng 2.2 Jonathan Chua 2.3 Narelle Kheng 2.4 Sandra Riley Tang 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Extended Plays (EP) 4 References 5 External links History 2011 – 2013: Formation, The Sam Willows

The Sam Willows were formed in December 2011 by founding members: Benjamin Kheng, Jonathan Chua, Narelle Kheng, and Sandra Riley Tang.

Barely a year after they formed, the quartet launched their debut EP The Sam Willows under a distribution deal with Warner Music Singapore, and made their international debut in 2013 at the annual South by Southwest music festival in Texas.[2] The band continued on a North American Tour, Korean Tour, and represented Singapore for the Western Australian Music Festival (WAM) in Perth.[3]

In April 2013, the Singaporean quartet entered the studio with Steve Lillywhite for a week-long production session, organized by Singapore Music Society (SG MUSO). The result was a reworking of their track "Glasshouse" (Lillywhite edition); released as the band’s latest single at the time. In August 2013, the band released their "Glasshouse" music video.

2015 – 2016: Take Heart

The band signed to Sony Music Singapore on a 360 deal in January 2015 and embarked on their journey to Stockholm, Sweden to record their debut album, Take Heart, with producer Harry Sommerdahl the following month.

Take Heart was released later in the year in October 2015, with "Take Heart" as their first official single from the album released in May 2015. The music video for the song was later released in July 2015.

In the same year, the band opened for Irish pop-rock band, The Script, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in April 2015.[4] The Sam Willows also recorded three songs - "Flags Up", "Ordinary" and "Champion", for the compilation album, Songs of the Games for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.[5] To celebrate Singapore's independence, The Sam Willows performed at the National Day Parade 2015 in August 2015.[6] They played one of Singapore's National Day celebration songs, "Home", during the celebration.

In May 2016, the quartet supported Little Mix on their The Get Weird Tour in Manila and Singapore.[7] Following that, the band sold out their first headlining concert in Singapore at The Coliseum.[8]

2017 – Present

In May 2017, The Sam Willows released “Keep Me Jealous”, the first official single from their upcoming sophomore album set to release in late 2017, co-produced by the band themselves and producers Fredrik Häggstam and Litens Anton Nilsson.[9]

On 13 July 2017, the band released their next single, "Save Myself".

On 9 February 2018, the band released two of their latest singles "Robot".  and "Papa Money".  at the same time.

The band released an 11 track album titled "I Know, But Where" on 6 July 2018, making it their second studio album.

Members Benjamin Kheng Main article: Benjamin Kheng

Benjamin Kheng (Chinese: 金文明 (Jin Wen-ming) was born on (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990 (age 27) in Singapore. He is the keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and vocalist. He was a former national youth swimmer, having trained since he was 6. He attended Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Singapore Sports School[10] and has a diploma in Arts and Theatre Management from Republic Polytechnic.

Jonathan Chua Main article: Jonathan Chua

Jonathan Chua (Chinese: 蔡坚信 (Cai Jian Xin) was born on (1990-02-12) February 12, 1990 (age 28) in Singapore. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist. He took Sociology as a major in Nanyang Technological University. In 2015, Jon started Zendyll Productions, a recording studio and sound design company in Singapore.[11] Jon is known to be the big brother in the band who gets things done [12]

Narelle Kheng Main article: Narelle Kheng

Narelle Kheng (Chinese: 金颂旖 (Jin Song-yi) was born on (1993-09-24) September 24, 1993 (age 24) in Singapore. She is the bass guitarist and vocalist. She was a former national youth swimmer, having trained since she was 6. She attended Methodist Girls' School, Singapore, Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Singapore Sports School, and took Communication Studies as her major in Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.[13][14] She had cameo roles in drama serials Zero Calling and Against The Tide,[15] and starred in a Channel 5 show, Do It Yourself.

Sandra Riley Tang Main article: Sandra Riley Tang

Sandra Riley Tang (Chinese: 邓威威 (Deng Wei Wei) was born on (1990-12-25) December 25, 1990 (age 27) in Singapore. She is the keyboardist, percussionist and vocalist. In 2012, she started RileyArt, which showcased and sold her handmade accessories, art and calligraphy.[16] In 2015, she co-founded her yoga studio, The Yoga Collective.[17]

Discography Main article: The Sam Willows discography Albums Take Heart (2015) I Know, But Where (2018) Extended Plays (EP) The Sam Willows (2012) References ^ "About The Band".  ^ Abdul Hadi, Eddino (22 November 2012). "Indie Band: The Sam Willows". stcommunities.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2014.  ^ O'Gorman, Ros (15 November 2013). "The Sam Willows at 2013 WAM Music Conference". rosogorman.com. Retrieved 9 July 2014.  ^ "The Script Opening Act - The Sam Willows".  ^ Hon, Jing Yi (3 March 2015). "Official music album launched for 28th SEA Games". Today. Retrieved 17 May 2015.  ^ "Singaporeans Celebrate 50th National Day With Nostalgic and Touch Parade At The Padang".  ^ Admin, Midas. "Midas Promotions - Little Mix - May 2016". www.midaspromotions.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.  ^ "The Sam Willows To Stage Their Own Concert At The Coliseum".  ^ "The Sam Willows Tease New Single "Keep Me Jealous"".  ^ "Star turn".  ^ "Kopi With Jon Chua". solidspace.sg. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2017.  ^ "3 things you should know about The Sam Willows' silent member, Jon Chua". todayonline.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.  ^ "The ladies from The Sam Willows share the secret to their popularity".  ^ "Swimmer-turned-singer-turned-actress Narelle Kheng is stretching her wings".  ^ "7 things in her bag: Narelle Kheng".  ^ "Why The Sam Willow's Sandra Riley Tang puts baby powder on her hair regularly". Archived from the original on 2017-03-24.  ^ "The Yoga Collective – Singapore's First Home-Concept Yoga Studio – Yoga Classes, Yoga Courses". www.theyoco.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.  External links Official website The Sam Willows at AllMusic